Snap fastener member



Dec. 26, 1933. A. J, SMITH 1,941,156

. SNAP FASTENERMEMBER Original Filed April 13,. 1931 I wvnifar red J6211/2535,

application Serial No.

Patented Dec. 26, 1933 PATENT OFFICE 1,941,156 smr FASTENER MEMBERAlfred J. Smith, Detroit, Mich,

er Corporation,

United-Carr Fasten assignor to Cambridge,

Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Original application April 13,1931, Serial No.

529,701. Divided and this application Novemher 4, 1931. Serial No.572,910

4 Claims.

My invention aims to provide improvements in snap fastener members andsnap fastener secured installations.

This application is a division of my co-pending 529,701, filed April 13,1931.

In'the drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of myinvention:-

Figure 1 is a plan section taken through a portion of a motor vehicledoor showing my invention;

ing a manner of applying the finishing part;

Fig. 3 is a top plan of the stud member which forms a part of myinvention;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan of the stud member; and

Fig. 5 is an end view of, the stud member.

My invention, as illustrated by the'drawiiig, is particularly, thoughnot exclusively, adapted for use in connection with securing upholsterycovered panels to the inside structure of a motor vehicle or other framestructure. For the purposes of illustration only I have shown a panel ofupholstery as it would be applied to a door structure, especially if thedoor structure had a wooden frame to which could be applied plates orstrips to provide socket means which would be located at substantialdistances from the edges of the door or other structure. Therefore, myinvention is particularly useful in connection with installations wherethe stud-receiving apertures are located inwardly from the edges of thestructures at greater distances than has been the usual practiceheretofore.

The fastener stud member, which I have preferred to illustrate, isformed from a single piece of sheet metal and has a U-shaped base andsocket-engaging means extending from one side of said base. The base ofthe fastener comprises a short side 1, a long side 2 and a portion 3connecting said arms and holding them in spaced relation. At the freeend of the arm 1 the metal is bent upwardly and divided by a slit 4 toprovide yieldable fingers 5-5 each of which has an edge 5whichcooperates with the other to present a diverging and thenconverging means for engagement with socket means. The fingers 5-5 arepresented in offset planes (Fig. 3) so that one may cross the other andboth are bent toward the portion 3 so that the axis of the fasteningmeans is inclined (Figs. 1 and 3) with relation to a plane which wouldbe normal to the. plane of the base. The slit 4 extends centrally of theside I nearly to the portion 3 (Fig. 3) so that the fingers 5 may bepermitted to move to- Fig. 2 is a section similar to Figure 1, butshow-- ward each other because of the fact that the material of the side1 may twist.

From an inspection of Fig. 5 of the drawing it will be clear that theedges 5* -5 of the yieldable fingers 5-5 are curved throughoutsubstantially their entire lengths and cooperate to provide divergingand then converging curved surfaces so shaped that when the yieldablefingers are entered into the aperture 12 in the supporting structure thegreatest resistance to yielding of the fingers 5-5 will occur during theinitial part of the entering operation. As the material surrounding theaperture 12 comes nearer to the largest distance across the fingers 5-5,the resistance to yielding of the fingers 5-5 will be lessened becausethe curved surfaces of the edges 5-5 present lesser angles as thefingers are being moved toward each other. Thus, it will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art that my fastener members whichare provided with curved edges 5 -5 are much more desirable thanfasteners having straight portions diverging and straight portionsconverging.

In my improved installation the finishing structure, to which the studis attached, comprises a backing 6 of cardboard or similar materialhaving a series of apertures 7 (one being shown) around it and spacedsubstantial distances inwardly from the periphery. The front side of thebacking is covered with a suitable covering 8 of cloth, leather or thelike and is folded over the edge and secured to the back as shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

The fastener stud members are preferably applied after the covering 8 isapplied to the backing 6 and from the rear side by inserting the longarm 2 through an aperture 7 and forcing the base into place so that thefastener assumes a position as shown in Fig. 2. The base is yieldable sothat the arms may spread during the attaching operation.

The supporting frame structure illustrated includes a wooden frame means9 covered at one side by sheet metal 10 which is bent over the edge ofthe wooden frame, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. It is inconvenient andexpensive to carry the metal 10 beyond the inner edge of the wood 9 so Ihave secured thereto a number of small plates 11 or strips in which Iprovide stud-receiving apertures 12 to receive the fingers 5-5 of thestuds, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.-

Heretofore, fastener studs have been used which had U-shaped bases andyieldable stud means extending therefrom normal to the plane of thebase. These are satisfactory in some installations but in installationsof the type illustrated, wherein the apertures 12 are located fartherfrom the edge of the door or the like than usual, the usual constructionis not as satisfactory as my improved fastener. The long side 2 of thebase is essential to urge the edge of the finishing structure tightlyagainst the frame structure and thereafter to hold it there. To do this,the side 2 has been stiffened by the rib 13 which extends the entirelength of that arm and also along the connecting portion 3 (Fig. 5) tothe end of the slit 4. The studs may shift laterally to some extentsince the apertures 7 are larger in cross-sectional area than theportion 3. Thus, the studs may be properly aligned with the apertures12.

By inclining the fingers 5-5 they are easier to enter into an aperture12 (Fig. 2), especially after one side of the finishing structure hasbeen attached, because they are presented substantially in alignmentwith an aperture 12 when the base is angled relative to the plane of theframe structure.

My invention is adapted for use in connection with re-upholstering ofvehicles which are not .equipped for attachment of upholstery by meansof snap fasteners. It is particularly useful in connection withre-upholstering of wooden frame structures.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, I do not wish to be limited thereby, because the scope of myinvention is best defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A snap fastener of the class described including a substantiallyU-shaped base having one side spaced from the plane of the other wherebysaid base may engage opposite sides of a supporting structure and snapfastening means extending from one of the sides of said base and havingits axis in a plane inclined at an acute angle relative to a planenormal to the plane of one side of said base. 89

2. A snap fastener of the class described including a substantiallyU-shaped base having one side spaced from the plane of the other wherebysaid base may engage opposite sides of a supporting structure and snapfastening means extending from one of the sides of said base andcomprising a pair only of yieldable finger portions extending from saidbasein a planeinclined at an acute angle relative to a plane normal tothe plane of one side of said base.

3. A snap fastener of the class described including a substantiallyU-shaped base having one side spaced from the plane of the other wherebysaid base may engage opposite sides of a supporting structure and snapfastening means extending from one of the sides of said base andcomprising a pair only of yieldable finger portions extending from thefree end of one of the sides of said base in a plane inclined toward theclosed end of said U-shaped base.

4. A sheet metal one-piece fastener stud having a U-shaped basecomprising a short side 1, a

longer side 2 spaced from said short side and a portion 3 connectingsaid sides at one end, a rib 13 formed in said long side 2 and saidconnecting portion 3 only and a pair of flat fingers 5-5 extending fromsaid short side 1 at an angle to the plane of the side 1 and divided bya slit 4 extending through the side 1 only.

ALFRED J. SMITH. 116

